Now Secret: How Many Gitmo Detainees Are Force Fed
During Ramadan, an undisclosed number of Guantanamo detainees on hunger strike are being force fed before sunrise and after dusk. Previously, the number of detainees being fed through a tube was reported to the press. “As prison camps spokesman, [Navy Cmdr. Bradley] Fagan has clamped a new level of secrecy on the Pentagon’s practice of pumping protein shakes into the stomachs of captives who refuse to eat meals catered to the prison camps by Defense Department contractors,” The Miami Herald reports. Fagan, who said that it is U.S. Southern Command policy not to disclose the number, did tell the Herald that “less than 10″ of the detainees were on hunger strike as of last week and that not all of them were being tube fed.
Anti-Muslim Sentiment in Politics and Policy?
At Foreign Policy, Suhail A. Khan argues that, during the 2008 presidential campaigns, “[i]f the Republican candidates treated Muslims as the enemy, the Obama campaign treated them like untouchables, keeping the Democratic candidate’s Muslim supporters at arm’s length throughout the election.” He goes on to say that “[o]n every issue and by every measure, Muslim Americans should vote firmly with the GOP. But they won’t until the party finds leadership willing to stop playing to the worst instincts of its minority of bigoted supporters.”
At Salon, Glenn Greenwald argues that the debate over Park51 isn’t a stand-issue issue but rather just one piece of an ongoing trend. “The animosity and hatred so visible here extends far beyond the location of mosques or even how we treat American Muslims,” he says. “So many of our national abuses, crimes and other excesses of the last decade — torture, invasions, bombings, illegal surveillance, assassinations, renditions, disappearances, etc. etc. — are grounded in endless demonization of Muslims.”
Fighting Rages in Mogadishu
At least 32 people were killed in an attack and ensuing battle at the Muna Hotel in Mogadishu today, and fighting in the city killed 40 people yesterday. Al Shabaab, which has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack, “threatened a ‘massive’ war” yesterday against the 6,000 African Union forces in Mogadishu, according to the AP. AP, New York Times.
Pakistan
Bombings Kill at Least 34 People Yesterday, Drone Strikes Kill 12
At least 34 people were killed in three separate bombings in Pakistan yesterday, while U.S. drone strikes reportedly killed 12 people. In one of the three bombings, a teenager killed 25 people in a suicide attack at a mosque in Wana after shaking hands with the imam, a former legislator and member of a party traditionally “sympathetic” to the Taliban, according to The Los Angeles Times. Nobody has claimed responsibility for any of the bomb attacks. Los Angeles Times, AP (via New York Times).
Zardari Says Fight Against Militants Will Continue, Flood Recovery Will Take At Least Three Years
President Asif Ali Zardari told journalists yesterday that militants may try to use the floods to undercut support for the government, and that the government will not be deterred in its efforts to fight them. He also said that the country will not recover from the floods for at least three years. Washington Post, AP.
Financial Assistance Has Not Affected Perception of the U.S.
U.S. financial assistance to Pakistan since 9/11 has had little impact on the public perception of the U.S. there, The Washington Post reports. Among the factors, according to the Post, are “poor coordination with the Pakistani government, a lack of understanding of Pakistan’s needs and a reluctance to produce iconic projects, lest they become targets for terrorists.”
Eight Hostages Killed in the Philippines
In Manila, a former police officer killed eight tourists from Hong Kong on a bus after holding them and others hostage for 12 hours. The gunman, Rolando Mendoza, was killed by police after they threw tear gas into the bus. Officials from the Philippine National Police said that they would investigate whether the situation could have been better handled. New York Times, Wall Street Journal.
News stories compiled by the staff of the Center on Law and Security
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